Tithe
by VescaWithoutWings
Summary: YAOI Kakairu Iruka is a teacher sent to Konoha as a tithe from Wave country AU-Fantasy
1. Chapter 1

Tithe: chapter one

Many years ago, in a war remembered only by graying old men, Kaisui Village of Wave Country was saved from utter destruction by the powerful force that was Konoha, the hidden village of Fire Country. As a result a treaty was made; one deemed fair by all peoples that began a pleasant history of peace and protection between the two countries. Wave was now a valuable ally and sea port for the land bound country of Fire. In remembrance of their actions and their continuing protection, a tithe was made to Fire Country every five years. This tithe usually came in the form of manpower, under the idea of replacing the lives that Konoha lost protecting Kaisui.

(ooo)

"But I'm not nearly the best teacher we have," argued Umino Iruka to the governor in front of him. "Wouldn't it be better to send Nagano-san or even Ika-kun; he's young, but already the students adore him. Konoha always asks only for our best, and that can't possibly be me."

The governor shook his head sadly. "You think so little of yourself, Iruka-sensei. You were unknowingly chosen as Nagano-san's successor upon his retirement. Your training was to begin at the start of the school year." He watched the skeptical look on Iruka's face turn towards the window. "You are an up and coming teacher, known for your boundless patience and goodwill towards your students no matter their problems. A young man of your talents will easily be able to adapt to a new village, whereas an older man like your mentor would experience stress at such a change." Iruka's face turned slightly guilty.

"Konoha has asked for a teacher with enough expertise to immediately handle a graduating class of pre-genin mages, which Ika-sensei has not been allowed to experience as of yet. You, Iruka-sensei, will be our tithe to Konoha." The governor stood and walked over to the young man, who was now staring morosely out the window. "Wave will always be your home, but we wish you the best as you make a second home in Konoha. You have a position of respect waiting for you. To be asked to train their young students is a privilege."

Iruka sighed loudly as he faced the governor, his brown eyes carefully concealing his true thoughts as he gave his final argument. "I've not even been able to call a familiar and you would send me as your best." He shook his head. "I can only see this ending badly."

"It is true that our village has been on shaky ties with Konoha recently because of the betrayal, but we cannot be held at fault for what a former villager does after they leave this place. Maybe they wish to discern our loyalty to their country by taking what we hold dear, and we do hold you dear, Iruka-sensei. It was not with an easy heart that I came to this decision. Go to Konoha and show them that we are not all like Mizuki. This village is still worthy of their continued protection."

Iruka's shoulders tensed as he heard the name of his former friend spoken aloud, something that was rarely done. His thoughts turned back to the day almost four years ago that they had been informed of Mizuki's incarceration and subsequent execution for his betrayal of Konoha. Iruka's long time friend had been part of Kaisui's tithe five years ago; Konoha had requested two chuunin level mages with the ability to perform shinobi jutsus. Iruka silently wondered how he'd be able to happily live in the same village that had put his friend to death. With a sigh he released his tension and nodded. "I will go."

The old governor gave a small chuckle. "Such a large sigh to set out on your adventure with…" He paused and moved to grasp Iruka's shoulder reassuringly. "There is only one thing you must do to prepare yourself for the position you will be taking, and you actually mentioned it yourself earlier. I have scrolls for you to study on your way to Konoha. The path is through a forest populated with many magical creatures, much more than we have here. By the time you arrive in Konoha you should make sure you have a proper familiar following you. This will showcase your abilities as a mage, proving to them without a doubt that you are readily capable of teaching their children."

Iruka blinked, coughed and blinked again. "A familiar? Sir, I've tried to summon one before and failed. The only creatures I've successfully called were a school of tuna and that flock of seagulls that almost destroyed the town."

It was hard to keep himself from laughing at those memorable events, but the old man persevered as he caught Iruka's eyes again. "Your call was so strong that it pulled in more than your fair share of potential familiars. I've found a scroll that describes a calling process that may be better suited to your skills, but it is a call for woodland creatures only, not the seaside animals you're used to." The governor walked over to grab a large scroll from his desk. "Within is the jutsu. It is surprisingly simple to perform, but hard to fill with the appropriate amounts of power. Your fine abilities at detailed chakra manipulation should make this an easy spell for you." He handed the scroll over to the teacher and smiled wide. "They are expecting you within two weeks, plenty of time to enjoy the trip and call yourself a nice cat, or a wolf even."

Iruka accepted the offered scroll silently. Once more he looked out the thin window, easily viewing the sea beyond the village. The calm waves continued to roll in without thought of the beach they broke on; it was a favorite sight of Iruka's that would soon be nothing more than a memory to keep him awake at night. Their constant and soft sound that normally lulled him to sleep would be replaced by the silence of a village full of people. He could feel the frown growing on his face when the governor pulled his attention back once more.

"There is one other thing I would reassure you of before you leave, young Iruka. Maybe you don't care to voice your complaint, but I'll have your mind at ease about it anyway." The old man motioned towards a corner shelf in his office. Three levels of finished wood held a number of personal memorial tablets each inscribed with the name of a departed loved one. "It…" the governor swallowed loudly. "It is just as easy for me to light a candle for my own son on the Day of Remembrance as it is for me to light two more for your parents. If this action would help you to feel better, I would be proud to safeguard their souls the same way I do those of my own family."

This time Iruka did not blink or even breathe until he knew what to say in answer. He schooled his face into a calm expression before speaking. "It's never been an easy thing to light any candle, sir. I accept your offer, even though I will still light my own for them on the anniversary. It will ease my mind to know that the sea will still see their remembrance lit by one who held them as closely as he did his own child."

The governor sniffed. "Ah, even so many years after it still seems a fresh wound, and today I lose yet another son of the village. You will go and pack now. Carry-boxes should already be placed within your rooms. I'll see you for dinner tomorrow; your last one here at the village, and what a celebration it will be!" He sat back down at his desk and nodded to himself.

Iruka bowed and left without another word. As he traveled the hallways out of the village's offices he couldn't help but feel the weight of his new scroll in his arms. It seemed an almost evil thing as he glanced down at it. The wrappings around the aged paper were faded and stained; obviously it had not been well cared for. As he walked and contemplated the object he was unaware that a pair of dark eyes and pattering feet began to follow. It was only once he arrived at his own apartment within the small bachelor house of the village that he sensed the short presence behind him. He glanced back and smiled while unlocking his door.

"Inari, what can I help you with?"

The young boy stared up at him, his eyes glaring from underneath the brim of a striped fisherman's hat. "You're leaving, aren't you?" He quickly looked down to avoid seeing Iruka's answering nod, but the silence was enough for him to understand.

The young teacher sighed and opened his door. "Why don't you come in? I'll make us some tea and tell you how much more Ika-sensei knows about building with sand than I do. None of my sand castles ever stayed past high tide, but he had this trick that kept them perfect for at least two days." Iruka couldn't help but chuckle at the bright light in Inari's eyes. The young boy was almost useless as a mage, but his understanding of architecture was amazing for one so young. Most people attributed it to the boy's uncle, a renowned bridge builder, but Iruka saw a big difference between that crotchety old man and his young student.

Inari quickly entered the small apartment and settled on the old couch. He watched as Iruka puttered into the kitchen and grabbed cups and a teapot. With even greater interest, the boy watched as his teacher performed two small jutsus on the teapot, one to fill it with fresh water, the other to heat it to the perfect boiling point. Within seconds the spicy aroma of the favored Wave blend was wafting through the room, aided by the breeze entering through windows that were only ever closed during a storm.

The two males sat beside each other with their cups in silence. Iruka was still reeling from the idea of leaving his home, and Inari was too nervous to speak about his teacher leaving forever. In the end they only spoke about Inari's future in the seaside town. Iruka enjoyed chatting with his young but very mature student until he noticed that the light from outside was getting dimmer.

"It's almost dark now, Inari," he mentioned. "You should get home before your mother worries too much. I understand that they've planned a going away party for me tomorrow."

Inari nodded as he stood and followed Iruka to the door. "My mom started cooking stuff today." He slid on his sandals and looked back up at his tall teacher. "I'll say goodbye tomorrow." He turned without another word and left.

Iruka closed the door softly and sighed. A quick glance to his left reminded him what he should have been doing that evening. He quietly lit the lamps around his apartment and began packing his personal belongings. Thankfully, the bachelor apartments came furnished, so he didn't need to worry about selling furniture or dishes. As he began removing pictures from frames he was able to remember how happy he was just seven years ago, when he'd been allowed his own apartment after graduation. He could barely remember watching these same pictures being packed away after his parents death in a great tsunami when he was twelve. The shock he and the entire town experienced had run its course only after two neighboring villages and Konoha had come to help clean up.

Two crates were easily filled with mementos and clothes before Iruka sealed them shut and laid down with a large sigh. There was too little preparation to tire him out for a good night's rest, so he wound up forcing himself to read an old textbook he had chosen not to take. What few dreams he experienced that night were full of the Konoha leaf mark and the tremendously powerful mages who had gained the abilities of a shinobi that wore it proudly.

TBC…

Author's note: My first post of yaoi, hopefully the first of many. Let's see how it goes. :D


	2. Chapter 2

Tithe: Chapter 2

Five days into his journey and Iruka knew he wasn't lost, but he felt like it. For the past three days he'd been surrounded by trees that blended into a solid wall of unknown forest, and their leafy branches only spanned higher the farther in he went. The trip to Konoha took a well documented week when traveling at a semi-leisurely pace along the forest path so the teacher knew he had at least two or three days where he could stop and camp while working on reaching out to a familiar.

Every night he read a little farther into the old scroll amazed at the detail in the directions, but the actual simplicity of the jutsu itself. The Governor had been correct when he'd claimed that Iruka would easily be able to easily use the scroll. He actually looked forward to reaching a point where he felt competent enough to give it a try.

_Tonight we say goodbye to a beloved son of our village. We join to celebrate his promotion to a position unreachable in our small home, but attainable only through our peaceful reliance on the hidden village of Konoha. We honor them by our requested tithe. To lose such a promising young man as Umino Iruka is to lose a part of our own soul. We wish him well on his journey, providence towards his future, and favor in his future actions. Raise your cups to Umino Iruka, now to be known as a teacher of Konoha._

It was two more nights before Iruka reached the end of the instructions. He was pleasantly surprised to find a listing of animals that could be and had been successfully called as familiars. Some of them even seemed to be good recommendations though most didn't seem appropriate for a classroom, such as a hawk or field mice.

_Here, near the end of this lovely evening we raise our cups and our hearts once more to our young Iruka. May he find love and laughter in that hidden village away from the sea._

He reached the boundaries of Konoha, easily recognized by a well known and well marked tree. As he stood there in the bright noon light his eyes searched over its heavily carved bark looking for a familiar name. They found the kanji without too much trouble, those few symbols that made up a name he had tried to forget. Iruka reached out his fingertips to trace over the rough edged marks while attempting to remember a time when that name was more than just the name of a traitor, but his old friend's final action had colored all the good thoughts that remained.

With a blink of his brown eyes Iruka tossed the maudlin thoughts from his mind and forced a smile as he searched the entire width of the tree for a free space to carve his own name. It was tradition for those who were sent to Konoha, a last reminder to their home villages that they'd once belonged elsewhere. He was finally forced to use his chakra training to climb the tree for access to a good spot.

High up in the tree was a piece of trunk illuminated by sunlight due to the thinning branches and strangely able to show him a good measure of the country he'd been walking in for the last week. There were trees as far as the eye could see, most making an even canopy of green leaves but an occasional rebel such as the one he was sitting in now stood up taller than the rest. As he focused on carving his own name into that sunlit spot he was unaware of being observed.

A masked figure crouched on a branch many trees over secure that the man couldn't see him. A messenger bird had already been summoned and sent to Konoha informing them of the expected teacher's imminent arrival since the stranger couldn't be anything other than their expected tithe. After watching the pony-tailed figure jump down from the tree the watcher left him to his business with a mental note to make sure the continuous ANBU patrols kept checking on him. Even though they were within Konoha territory there were always dangers, and losing their new teacher before he'd even met his students wouldn't make the Hokage very happy at all.

Evening had fallen while Iruka set up his camp. His dinner was slowly roasting on a stick and the summoning scroll was spread out showing the entire diagram he needed to call a familiar. The unlucky animal he'd caught earlier was devoured as he carefully studied the seal images once more before cleaning up and getting comfortable. This particular summoning would take a tremendous amount of focus on how exactly he laid out his chakra into the appropriate patterns and with what intensity those symbols called the creatures with. While concentrating so minutely on the jutsu he would be open to attack and so prepared with a variety of traps around his campsite, but not as many as he had originally planned.

Even though he was in unfamiliar woods, a sense of comfort had enveloped him as he continued to walk forward accompanied by the occasional chakra presence. He didn't doubt that he was already being watched by Konoha guards, and was actually disappointed they hadn't dropped from their patrols to say hello. It was their presence that kept him from worrying too much about the possible dangers of meditating so deeply for an extended amount of time. Any of the traps he'd set would easily bring him back to consciousness if set off, and any strangers would be found and surrounded by Konoha's ANBU well before they got to him; at least he hoped so.

Iruka chuckled at his thoughts and sat down. A quick arranging of himself and the area had him prepared and ready. He stretched out a thin layer of chakra all around him and began shaping it in to the form of the forest summon seal. Had anyone been watching that could see chakra they would have wondered at the many holes and tears that appeared in the aqua colored shroud causing it to appear ragged until another wave of power fleshed the pattern out into a much wider circle around the mage.

The moon was rising late as a patrol sensed the disturbance. The Konoha shinobi traveled quickly from tree to tree until he found what he'd been told to check up on; the new teacher. The guard took a few loud steps near the campsite to inform the stranger of his presence and had to stand still for a second when he realized he was surrounded by traps, small ones, nonlethal ones, but loud and annoying traps that would announce his presence to anyone nearby and some people far away if they had good hearing. The shinobi grinned and stepped around them all into the firelight to observe the man who would soon be teaching the younger generation. He was quite impressed by what he saw and even more so when he raised the hitai-ate that covered his left eye to observe the chakra that was leaking from the brunette.

With the exposure of his normally hidden eye he could see that the chakra wasn't leaking, but being very delicately placed in a seal of high detail. That fine of a control was rarely seen in a jounin level mage outside of the hospital and here the chuunin they'd requested played with his energies as delictaely as a musician did his instruments. It was an amazing thing to watch, but the shinobi could easily see why the man wasn't a higher level. Though he had enormous control over his personal power, the man had very little of it. Already his personal reserves were running low, but he seemed to be coming to the end of his design so the shinobi jumped into nearby tree to observe unnoticed.

From above, the chakra design resembled a summoning seal, but none the shinobi had seen before. As he watched it continued to thin and spread into a wider formation until the symbols were all separate of each other. With a wave of color that shot out in all directions, the chakra was loosed into the forest and the mage sitting by the fire gave off a loud sigh. The concealed shinobi watched as the man stood and stretched.

Iruka felt like laughing as he worked his tense muscles. The summons had gone perfectly, exactly as the scroll had described it. His familiar should show up by the morning and he was hoping for a hound, but one of the sarcastic forest cats might do as well. He rolled up in his travel blanket and found a comfortable spot up against a tree trunk after securing his small fire. He was sure whatever animal that answered his call would have no problems with waking him up.

As he fell asleep he could feel a nearby chakra presence moving away from him, one of Konoha's guards who must have sensed the summons and stayed to make sure he was alright afterwards. Iruka smiled as he wondered about what the guard might have thought of his odd actions. Hopefully Konoha knowing that he had just now summoned a familiar wouldn't look bad. He could only hope that whatever answered was impressive enough to stem any odd looks he might receive.

_Young Iruka, you have quite an adventure in front of you. Make sure you remember us as you become what all mages yearn for, a true shinobi of a hidden village. I've always admired your ability at their jutsus. You've been a credit to this school, and a credit to this village. Now you take your learning and your empathy to students that need you more than our small classrooms do. I wish you luck as you cross from one life to another. May you find only smiles upon your arrival._

_To Be Continued..._

A/N: so, here's the next. I had some problem blending the idea of chakra and magery and such, but hopefully I muddled through enough to make it easily understandable in later chapters.. for now, just go with the flow :D

Thank you so much for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Tithe: Chapter 3

The next morning brought bird song, soft light and an odd snuffling sound from across the other side of Iruka's now cold campfire. He sat up quickly and groaned aloud at the feel of several small somethings dropping off of him and relating their misery at being abruptly awoken in loud, chittery voices. "I did not summon squirrels," he began repeating to himself as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Finally able to focus sleep bleary eyes on the louder sounds he jumped up with a cry and more mad chittering from the small rodents that had found him to be a comfortable sleeping place. He couldn't decide on an animal for his eyes to rest on as he tried to talk but found himself silenced in amazement. Nearby his travel pack, which had been securely tied in a tree before he fell asleep, were the strangest variety of animals he had never thought would run around together. Two spotted forest cats with tufted ears were calmly sitting away from the few others after having obviously assuaged their curiosity; a torn and empty paper wrap that had once held some spiced and dried fish lay limply between them. Their slit-pupiled eyes went back and forth from watching some wolves play tug with one of his shirts and a never ending line of fluff tailed bunnies that entered and left his small pack with mysterious substances clutched in their mouths.

Iruka wanted to scream, madly tear his hair and run straight back to the governor and cram that stupid summon scroll which was supposed to make him the best chuunin for this tithe right back up the old man's craw. Instead he fell back down on the ground to the amusement and joy of the horde of red squirrels that jumped into his lap and began making a pile. He watched them for a few seconds then turned back to the other animals only then noticing a placid looking doe resting by a tree along with her fawn.

"I don't suppose any of you are familiars," he was finally able to ask in a shaky voice. As one the animal population of his camp quieted and looked at him with eyes that carried more than a normal animal's intelligence. "I guess that answers that," Iruka muttered as one of the many squirrels decided his shoulder was a perfect spot to observe the goings on. A definite and almost human sounding laugh from his left had him turning to a previously unnoticed animal and gulping loudly.

Sitting tall and primly with tail wrapped around its paws was the biggest fox Iruka had ever seen. Even while sitting its head was even with Iruka's own as he leaned against a tree trunk which meant the creature would be hip high when Iruka was standing. The unusual size wasn't the only odd thing about it; the fox also had an even colored coat of amber blonde fur which darkened into red on his tails, nose, paws and ears. If its size was unusual, its coloring even more so, but what drew Iruka in the most was the color of the animal's eyes; a true sky blue.

"Are you my familiar," Iruka inquired after a moments more observation. This animal before him was obviously not the norm of his species which gave him the highest possibility of answering yes to that question.

The fox laughed again and shrugged as best an animal could. "Maybe. Are you sure you don't want the horde of squirrels? They're fun to chase around!"

"No," Iruka replied. "No, I wasn't really thinking of a horde of squirrels when I called for a familiar." He sighed loudly and gave a pat to the now mad squirrel on his shoulder. "If I wanted a flock of animals I could've kept the seagulls. Now those guys could have done damage."

"Seagulls?"

"Big, loud, white birds that eat anything and everything then cover whatever they choose to roost on or fly over with bird chalk."

The fox barked in laughter. "Now those things might be useful." It gave off a toothy grin. "There are some people I know that need a layer of bird poop. Could you call them again?"

Iruka could only chuckle. He'd just met this animal and already it showed true to the prankster ways of a fox familiar. "No, I couldn't," he answered. "But I might be able to call a school of tuna if I tried hard enough."

The fox licked its chops. "Tuna are tasty," it said in a bright voice as he stood up on his four legs and shook heartily sending its ?tails? flying. "Maybe I'll let you keep me if you can feed me tuna."

Not a word came out of Iruka's mouth as the blonde animal stepped nearer. He could only gape at what had been mentioned in the scroll as a rare happening. He hadn't summoned a mage-fox, a familiar animal with higher than normal intelligence. He had actually summoned a demon fox; one of the nine types of tailed beasts with power that most chakra users would kill for. He had heard that of the tailed demons called biju the fox was the most powerful, growing up to nine tails. This one before him, calmly accepting him as a possible master, only had three which meant it was either still young or had already been abused by mages before answering the summons. Iruka was almost too afraid to ask, but he had to know the answer before knowing how to proceed.

The fox had looked down at its gently twitching tails in thought after Iruka's question turned a sad blue eye his way. "I can't remember if I've ever had more than these. Something happened and now all I can remember is the past seven human years. I woke up in a small shrine north of here and decided to stay. Do you think some mage did something?"

Immediately Iruka felt bad for bringing up the subject. "It's possible," he finally answered. "But I can guarantee you that even knowing what you are, I would never presume to take advantage of the power I know you can offer, or that I could take." He stood up shaking off most of the squirrels and held out a hand. "I would be pleased to call you my familiar, Demon Fox-san. I do have some questions, though. I'm not familiar with demon physiology. Are you a male fox or a female? I can't tell from your voice."

The fox barked again in laughter and thumped its tails on the ground causing the trees all around to shake slightly. "Kyuubi, my name's Kyuubi, and I'm a guy!" He jumped up and placed his paws on Iruka's chest and gave his new master a lick under his chin. "I think you might have gained another friend," he mentioned nosing towards the squirrel now clawing Iruka's shirt to keep from falling. "Squirrels are too stringy for my taste so I won't mind sharing."

Iruka laughed and introduced himself. "My name's Iruka, Umino Iruka. I've just traveled here from Wave country." He gave Kyuubi a pat on the head and then scowled at the squirrel on his shoulder. A growling brought his attention back to the animals still across his cold campfire from them. "What about them," he inquired.

Kyuubi shrugged and sat back on his haunches. "They follow me around sometimes. One of them probably would have spoken up if I hadn't." He peered at the brunette with a gleam in his eye. "Are you sure you don't want one of those juicy looking rabbits for a familiar? They make very good mittens." He yipped in humor at Iruka's face and gave off a low sound that caused the animals to leave. "So," he said twining his tails around his legs again. "Where do we go from here?"

Iruka began fixing the mess his pack had been turned into. "I'm going to Konoha," he answered while taking stock of the one bag of dried fruit and nuts the rabbits hadn't gotten into yet. "I've been given a teaching position in the hidden village and needed to call a familiar before arriving." He looked over to Kyuubi and was startled. "What's wrong?"

The fox had hunched down as much as he could and dug his nose into the pile of fur that was his tails. "Konoha doesn't like me," he mourned. "I can't go in there. They keep throwing things at me."

After a few blinks Iruka was able to stammer. "Is there… Is there a reason for this?"

Kyuubi shrugged. "They don't like me," he whined again.

"Well," Iruka sat and crossed his arms and legs in a thinking pose. "We'll have to think of a way to get you in without them knowing, or maybe I can just tell them that if they want me then they have to accept you."

Kyuubi's head shot up and he bared a foxy grin. "You want me to trick them?"

"Well, I like the idea of having you for a familiar," Iruka told him while scratching his nose. "Even in this short time you've sort of grown on me."

The fox bounced around for a moment then barked and disappeared in a puff of chakra smoke. Once the dusty red clouds had dispersed a much smaller, more normal looking animal sat calmly scratching its ear. "I can look like this," the little red fox said with a satisfied grin on his face. "I can change into other things, too!"

Iruka laughed and began working on his pack again. "If you're sure they won't throw things at you in that form…" Kyuubi yipped in reply and settled down to watch Iruka pack up his campsite.

The teacher was going slowly to check for any trash the animals might have strewn around, but was on his way well before noon. The two companions, fox and man enjoyed walking through the forest in sun dappled shade as they got to know each other better. Kyuubi was full of questions about the seaside which he'd never visited. Iruka was given a full run down of the pranks and tricks the fox had played on the shinobi who had seen him and tried to catch him.

"No wonder they throw things at you," Iruka muttered after hearing about trees falling on pursuing shinobi. "I'd throw things at you too if you broke my arm."

Kyuubi laughed. "Those two deserved it. I'm nice to some of the villagers. There was one nice old man, but he doesn't come around anymore. He would bring me treats and talk to me. I told him about everything I saw in the forest. He liked to hear about the fish runs. There was even once when one of the little guys saw me. I think something bad had happened; he was covered in blood. I led him away from the village to a safe tree I know about."

"Was he alright?"

"Well, he was pretty crazy when they pulled him out. There's a shinobi who likes dogs, he doesn't throw things at me when he sees me, just stares really really hard with one eye so I figure he's a safe guy. I found him and led him to the tree. That was years ago."

Iruka leaned down and patted his familiar. "Well, you've been very good to the village even if you haven't been treated nice."

The little red fox ran in circles and barked. "There was one time I was watching a wagon come in, and they fed me. They gave me this tasty soup with noodles in it! I made sure none of the other animals bothered them at night."

"You keep getting fed by the villagers, huh? Do you even know how to hunt? We are going to need dinner soon."

"I can hunt! Rabbits are easy, but birds are tastier."

Iruka laughed at Kyuubi's indignant tone and sent him off with orders for dinner. He planned on taking his time as they traveled through Konoha's territory and not showing up at the gates for at least two more days. Having the fox find food would allow him to relax and look upon the journey as a well deserved vacation.

Though he felt a bit odd at keeping secrets from the village from the start, Iruka felt that finding out the story behind Kyuubi before revealing him would be the best idea. He would, of course inform the village's Hokage without being asked. The currently little fox seemed like such a nice companion, and Iruka didn't want to give him up.

He shrugged and put his thoughts away to focus on their campsite. Iruka planned to have a nice fire going before his familiar came back with dinner. He'd try to get more information out of the fox tonight before they slept. There was definitely an interesting backstory to the village's hatred of the fox and he planned on finding out what it was.

To Be Continued…

A/N: Yes, yes, I apologize for the wait but here you go. This story has NOT been discontinued it has just been trying to make itself more complicated than it was originally supposed to be. There is more already in the works, but no guarantees for when it goes up, only please know that I AM still trying to work on it. Thank you for putting up with such a long wait.

Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoy my little bit of fun that I'm going to have with this story. XD


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